Picture this: You’re on a stage in your farm area and everyone you ever wanted to reach with your real estate business is standing there in front of you. Suddenly a microphone lowers from the sky and stops right at your mouth. A spotlight shines squarely on you and the audience awaits your every syllable with rapt attention. 
 
That would be about as good as it gets – in fantasy. But in fact, if you blog, you can get pretty close to that scenario. Agents are doing it every day, and they’re beginning to make money – big money.
 
I read recently about an agent in Nevada who closed 21 transactions totaling nearly $13 million in a market where the median home price was $285,000. She attributed 75 percent of that business to her blog. And get this; she’s only been in the business three years.  
 
Now how in the world can that be? How could a simple blog account for that much of her business? I learned that the agent blogs about her community. So if she does that, then she must know about her community. Presto, there you have it. She turned herself into an expert in the eyes of readers. And we all know clients want to work with experts.
 
A blog, if it’s done right, can turn you into an expert, too. Here a few tips to writing a blog:  
 
Be Informative. Sharing good, useful information is not only the best way to get readers; it’s also the best way to build their trust. If the information has value, you become the authority – the person to look to when it comes to real estate.
 
Localize your blog. A close cousin to being informative is knowing what your readers want to read about. Any good newspaper person will tell you all news should be local. So what’s going on in your community that’s related to real estate? Check the newspaper and Google your city. What can help potential sellers and buyers? What are the local developments in the various neighborhoods?
 
Personalize your blog. People do business with those they know. If readers can get to know you on your blog, you’re one step ahead of the competition. I heard about an agent in Seattle who loves Elvis and she incorporates the icon into her real estate business every chance she gets. She’s slowly building a memorable and personable brand for herself in her market.

Write to your target audience. Always, always keep your reader in mind when you’re writing your blog. Consider posting a picture of a person who represents your target audience near your computer. Write to that one person. Use the words and language that person is used to reading. If your writing feels “right” to them, they’ll trust you more.
 
Always include a call to action. If you don’t tell readers what to do, they’ll never do it. I know this is marketing 101, but you’d be surprised how many agents don’t have a call to action in their blogs. Ask readers to call you for the latest statistics of home sales in their neighborhood. Ask them to e-mail you with real estate questions (you can then use those questions as topics in future blogs). Get them to call you for a list of your latest listings. The key is to engage your audience.
 
You can get started right right here by getting your free RealTown Blog.
 
Thank you for reading and best of luck to you! Check out my Blog at www.CorcoranCoaching.com/blog/
 
Bob Corcoran is a nationally recognized speaker and author who is founder and president of Corcoran Consulting Inc. (CorcoranCoaching.com, 800-957-8353), an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and the implementation of sound business systems into the residential or commercial broker or agent’s existing practice.